Is Now a Good Time to Buy? Part 1 of 4

I know with interest rates so low you want to buy a home. I mean why not? Many of your friends have bought homes or at least it seems that way. So what do you do if you have that itch to own? I guess the first thing you would need to realize is that there are many others just like you who have discovered the same idea of putting all that rent money into a home that you can benefit from rather than the landlord. Finding a home in the right price range is kind of obvious. So beyond that, what do you need to concentrate on? When you find the right house how do you get it? What if the house is  everything you have always dreamed of is fixed up and shows like a dream? When you were at the open house it was jammed with other people just like you. So how can you secure the house before someone else does? Then once you have the house what if it is not what you thought it was, like the home inspection finds something nasty? Now what? Then there is the financing, the closing costs and prepaids that the loan officer talks about and you nod like you know what he is talking about but really don’t have a clue? Then you have heard from friends about long closings, 2-3 hours waiting for who knows what but after the horror stories you think to yourself, “Why would I ever want to do that?”

Let’s tackle each one of these topics because they are all great questions. I won’t answer each one in this single blog post so I will answer them over the next few posts. But each one deserves some attention.

Interest Rates are Low is NOW the time to buy?

You can do the math on this one. There are some great mortgage calculators out there on the web http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/mortgagecalc/ . One variable that you will need with all these calculators is what is the cost of homeowners insurance. It is always a good idea to get some help in this area. Will Edwards at State Farm Insurance would be a place to start. For a $220,000 home with $3,000 in annual property taxes at 4.25% interest rate with 10,500 down payment the payments are $1,485 with PMI. When you meet with your lender it is good to ask for a Truth in Lending comparison. Feel Free to contact Brian Faust at Wisconsin Mortgage brian@wimort.com. I am providing these names with no catch. I don’t get anything from these guys and they are people I have dealt with in the past and feel comfortable that I am getting the best service from them. From here you can figure out your personal finances to see if this is a good move for you or not. 

The nice thing about most mortgages today is that they will escrow your property taxes as part of your payment, so in December when the taxes are due, you will have the money set aside. In the next blog post we can discuss how to avoid losing the home of your dreams. It happens every day in this market but if you follow a few simple rules you can win the day with the dream house.